mini plum tarts.

its summer, you guys! the days are longer and the air has a sudden, joyful charge. and stone fruit!

but first, a sidebar: after 7 years in san francisco I decided I’m more of a fresh air-breathing, beach-walking, farmers-market going, parking space-having person, so I gave up my apartment and quit my job and packed my sh*t and moved home. my brain/pride says “no! be a grown up! muddle through!” but my heart/spirit says “oh thank christ.” and so far so good! por ejemplo, today I walked sweet holly to the beach, swam laps at the gym and poked around the local farmers market where I picked up plums and raspberries, plump and saturated and the color of gem stones. my aunt patricia came over (she’s not really my aunt, but she is) and I made these, mini plum tarts.

slice plums however you like and saute in a warm, buttered pan. add a splash of “something” (I used rum), nutmeg, star anise, ground cloves, lemon zest. add raspberries, 1/3 cup of brown sugar (in the future I might use a little more) and a teeny squirt of vanilla. let the whole thing simmer. line buttered muffin tin cups with pie crust and bake at 325 for 12-15 mins, then add generous spoon fulls of fruit combo to each mini pie cup and bake about 10 more mins. let them cool and serve in a pretty, shallow bowl.

we ate them with whipped cream and talked about change and letting go and self-compassion. I told her I had been sad because I felt unwanted. “well I want you,” she said. we finished our dessert, it was sweet and simple and exactly what I needed.

2 Responses to “mini plum tarts.”

I give testimony to the fact that the mini plum tarts Julia designed and concocted were heavenly from the minute the smells wafted out of the oven, to the visual feast when she put the plate down in front of me, to that first – and last – bite of a bite ‘o heaven! It was the perfect end to a perfect dinner with a near-perfect niece (have to say ‘near-perfect’ lest she blushes!). I immediately signed up for more of everything.